I'm a big fan

So I neglected my blog for so long some of my finds are no longer very timely. In the middle of a heat wave this summer (that one hot week we had between the months of cold and rain) Dan and I were walking home and found this fan on the side of the road. There was a sign on it that said "Free, Works" and we decided to trust it. It was a little tricky to carry home the remaining three blocks, but we made it and installed it in our bedroom. The style left a little bit to be desired, but Dan managed to remove the offending light fixture portion, which helps a lot. It seems like a quality fan- it doesn't rattle when on high and is quiet. It worked like a charm while it was hot. Now we just need to find a space heater with a pre-paid electricity bill and we'll be all set for winter.

Money Maker part 2

Awhile ago I had a good run of luck at the Goodwill. In my previous post you saw the Stokke high chair I got for $5. About a week before that truly amazing find I found this BOB jogging stroller. (This of course is a picture stolen off the web, but I sold mine so I have no picture for you. It looked exactly like this though, in brand new condition.) It was in new shape (in fact it had the REI tag on it still - $265). I got it for $30. I knew I could easily sell it on Craigslist, but when I got it home I somehow deluded myself into thinking now that I had this product I would morph into the kind of woman who goes jogging early in the morning with her child. I jogged once then posted it on craigslist. It sold pretty fast for $200, making a good profit which nicely off set the shame I felt in admitting I was not going to be a jogger.

Money Maker

If there is one thing I have come to know well its used baby stuff. For some reason it is even more fun to shop for my baby then for myself. Since I read baby magazines/blogs/attend baby-centered events I have picked up a good sense of what the cool baby stuff is (its a lot like high school out there at times). Add to this the fact that thrift stores are overflowing with used baby stuff and you see how I can often find great stuff to sell at the thrift store. One of my best finds is this high chair. Looks pretty average right? Its a Stokke (European brand) high chair with a washable chair covering. Retail the high chair costs over $200 and the cover is an additional $30. I actually have used one these things and was not impressed, but that is beside the point. The point is that I got it at Goodwill for $5 and sold it on craigslist for $135 within 1 hour of posting it. It was a pretty impressive turn around for me. Definitely the best I have done yet. My real question is who gave this to the thrift store without even trying to sell it on craigslist first? I had a dozen people email me immediately when I posted it. It easier to have someone else come and get it from you then to take it to Goodwill yourself. Whatever the reason their loss is my gain.

Free things do grow on trees

DH recently found this perfectly good bag of printer paper sitting on the sidewalk. Two things were unclear to me about this - 1. (the obvious) why do people throw away perfectly good stuff? and 2. how did this avoid the rain and wind of seattle and remain relatively intact? What ever the case it turned out well for us.

Lawnmower Man

First off, a confession - I have never mowed a lawn in my life. Despite this I can certainly see the need for a lawnmower when one moves into a new neighborhood and doesn't want their home being viewed as blight by the neighbors. We actually have only a tiny, tiny patch of grass since we ripped out most of the yard to put in a vegetable garden. However this patch of grass was sadly overgrown and strewn with weeds until we found this:


I should actually clarify that DH's sister Carrie found this. (thanks Carrie!) It was sitting out by their parent's house with a free sign on it. We all walked over and talked with the owner who was weeding her yard. She said her husband bought it only a year and a half ago and simply wanted a nicer model. It works great and had gas in it already. Since its arrival our little patch of grass looks much better (well, at least much shorter). Additionally we've been able to loan this beauty to our next door neighbors, so I think it fair to say we have moved from an eyesore to an asset to the community all thanks to the lawnmower.

Jam Plan

Its canning season, a time of year I always look forward to. There is something very nostalgic about canning for me. Its one of the few kitchen activities I actually wear an apron for. Not really because its messier than others, but because it seems like you should when you are canning. You should also probably have a very old fan blowing fly paper around as well. Anyway, we spent a weekend at a friend of our's parent's house and managed to leave with a flat of their beautifully ripe and tasty strawberries for free. We were with some other people who took a bag full each and I was only slightly embarrassed that we picked so many. I couldn't stand the thought of these berries rotting on the bush because no one picked them. These were cut, cooked and made into freezer jam quickly, which we have been enjoying since. We are now on the look out for blackberries and hopefully some apples soon.

Home Improvement for the Birds

With our new home has come many new opportunities for home improvements (which is why we could afford the house in the first place). Each of these projects seems to necessitate a new tool for DH (Dear husband). I am all kinds of supportive about this, but as far as I am concerned if a project can be done without spending hundreds on tools all the better. Recently DH saw the below saw in a pile of free stuff while out and about:
He said it is a miter saw and was just what he needed to build our chicken coop. It works perfectly. Its definitely a lower end model and a little dirty, but what do you expect when its free, right? Anyway, since he found the saw he did in fact finish our chicken coop and now we can look forward to a thrifty source of eggs.